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I just saw a status posted by a friend of a friend, and it
opened up a whole new world to me. I did a bit more digging and finally found out more about the nation wide ketone strip shortage.
T1Ds use ketone blood or urine strips to test our ketone
levels. Ketones occur with very high sugar levels, or when you’re sick. In t1ds
the presence of ketones with a high sugar is very dangerous and called diabetic
ketoacidosis (DKA). The body begins using its own supplies for energy and the
glucose level rises.
In short, DKA is the threat high sugars pose. It can lead to
organ failure, coma, and death.
We aim to keep ketones under 0.6, anything over that and
there’s an emerging problem if your sugars are over 15 as well. 1.5 and you
often need to seek immediate contact with a healthcare professional.
The ketone strips we use are inaccurate, or expensive. Ketone
urine sticks have a 20minute delay, but they’re cheaper. Ketone blood strips
are more accurate, but don’t come cheap and only have…

Day Four brings us to the topic of The Healthcare Experience: "Most
people who live with a chronic illness end up with a lot of experience when it
comes to dealing with healthcare. How would you improve or change your
healthcare experience? What would you like to see happening during medical
visits with your healthcare team? How about when dealing with your health
insurance companies? What's your Healthcare Wish List or Biggest Frustration?
Today is the day to share it all!" I wrote this post in advance, but due to the changes going on in Australia right now, I wanted to rewrite it. So settle yourselves in for a long one because I'm stepping up on the soap box again (unrelated but I really need a cool graphic like Renza at Diabetogenic). To start with I'd like to say that this is potentially not the most interesting area for everyone and I understand that. So please, no obligation to go through all of this. But it's something I'm passionate about which mea…

Day
Three: Language and Diabetes: "There is an
old saying that states “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never
hurt me”. I'm willing to bet we've all disagreed with this at some point, and
especially when it comes to diabetes. Many advocate for the importance of using
non-stigmatizing, inclusive and non-judgmental language when speaking about or
to people with diabetes. For some, they don't care, others care passionately.
Where do you stand when it comes to “person with diabetes” versus “diabetic”,
or “checking” blood sugar versus “testing”, or any of the tons of other
examples? Let's explore the power of words, but please remember to keep things
respectful.” I could have sworn I'd posted about this before but I can't seem to find it. So here we go again! As a student health professional I use
patient first language religiously. When referring to other people I use it.
When referring to myself I really don’t care, but I know other people d…

Day Two
“The Other Half of Diabetes: We think a
lot about the physical component of diabetes, but the mental component is just
as significant. How does diabetes affect you or your loved one mentally or
emotionally? How have you learned to deal with the mental aspect of the
condition? Any tips, positive phrases, mantras, or ideas to share on getting
out of a diabetes funk?” I’ve
talked about mental health and diabetes before, so to be short and sweet: I
find T1 latches on to my anxiety and depression, which makes sense when it’s a
big part of my life. It definitely didn’t cause them, but it all intertwines. So how do
I deal with that? Lots and lots of support! I really didn’t want that support
when I was younger because I thought I was completely okay. But once I learnt
how to deal with those things, life got a lot better. The best bit of advice
I’ve heard came from my mum. She likes to remind me that I have more than one
chronic illness. I tend to invest all of my care into my diabetes…